What to look for, what to ask, and what features to
consider when adding a shopping cart to your website.Helpful tips when implementing your shopping cartConsider the Following Criterias:1. How much will it cost upfront?
2. Is it an online 3rd party "service" or a software I load and setup on my
Webserver? Am I prepared to do the programming myself on my webserver or have
someone available to set this up for me?
3. What's the monthly recurring charges?
4. How simple is the shopping cart to setup and implement? What's the learning
curve?
5. Will I have to discard all my current webpages and build new pages based on the new
shopping cart system, or can I just simply plugin the shopping cart feature to my existing
site?
6. Is there a revenue sharing fee with this shopping cart system?

Cons:
. High front end purchase Cost
. Must redo entire website and redesign and reprogram using the proprietary software
. You're locked into their software for life, or until you change systems.
. Time to execution is long. Some programming and major learning curve involved.
. Heavy load on your main webserver.
. Will need an SSL Account with Verisign or other service provider.

2. Custom Software Systems (Using PHP/Mysql or
ASP.NET or .NET, Coldfusion, or other)Pros:
. The shopping cart is exactly how you want it to be.
. No monthly recurring Costs.

Cons:
. High cost to setup (Programmers are not cheap)
. Time to execute is very long. Be prepared to be very patient.
. Be prepared to find bugs and problems for the first 6 months.
. May need to redesign website around the new programming scheme.
. Do you really know what you want in a shopping cart?
. Will need an SSL Account with Verisign or other service provider.

Cons:
. Monthly recurring revenue fees. They want a percentage of your gross sales, thus
the long term costs are very very high.
. You can't design the site exactly how you'd like it to be unless you're prepared to
learn "their" designing language or hire a 3rd party company to do this for you.
. You're locked into them for life for hosting services too.
. Lacks flexibility.

4. Simple Plug In Shopping Cart System Add-On Module Systems (Such as Ecartsoft)Pros:
. Easy plug in setup.
. Quick to implement and learn
. The learning curve is surprisingly short. Does not require programming knowledge.
. Can work with any existing website.
. You can design yoursite anyway you like and just plugin their module for the shopping
cart.
. Low start up cost. Nothing to buy.
. No need for an SSL Certificate.

Cons:
. Monthly recurring fee for as long as you use their system.
. Customer is taken off your webpage when viewing their shopping cart or checking out.